Hair Brush/ Comb advice for fine hair

[beccarud]

Hello!

I am new to this forum, and it looks like this would be the perfect place to get some advice on which brush would be best for my hair. I have long, fine very straight hair. I have never really thought about what brush I use, I have always just used cheap drugstore brushes on my hair. Now thatI am getting older (30), I would like to keep my hair long and take proper care of it. My hair gets pretty tangled when I get out of the shower (I wash & condition once a day). I am wondering if the Mason Pearson "detangler" would be good for me, or if it is not so good for fine hair. I am thinking of getting a wide toothed horn comb for right out of the shower, and then the MP detangler to use afterwards to get all of the tangles out. Eventually, I would also like to get the boar bristle Mason Pearson for my dry hair, but that is not in my budget yet!!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated...thank you!!!

[Dreams_in_Pink]

If you have a serious problem with tangles, i'd suggest getting a "tangle teezer". Look that name up in google or here. I haven't used it, but i heard it works wonders when detangling.

[bttrfly857]

I detangle before showering, that helps a lot. I use a wooden wide tooth comb from The Body Shop, I think it's $5-10. I have a boar bristle brush, but haven't used it in years. I just finger comb or use my wide tooth comb.

[Igor]

No product recommendations but: Do you detangle during conditioning? I find it helps to detangle the small tangles that occur during handling instead of waiting until after the shower where the small ones will have evolved into bigger ones
Running water seems to help the detangling process too
Also, get your hands on some fine sandpaper to make sure all seams are out of your combs! Just because the wrapping says something about “Hair friendly” doesn’t mean that it really, truly is!

[HoneyJubilee]

The detangler is the medium sized all nylon brush, right?

I have the "universal"/large MP all nylon brush. I really like it but I don't think I'd use it for detangling.
I detangle with a wide tooth comb before I shower, comb conditioner through when I remember to bring my comb into the shower with me, and then gently comb again after my shower. Doing this gets gets rid of pretty much all my tangles, and my hair likes to tangle really easily. The MP nylon brush is great for smoothing my hair and feels nice on my scalp, but I don't think it's very gentle or effective on tangles.

[hippie girl]

I detangle before showering, that helps a lot.

This is exactly what I came in here to say. I have fine hair like you do. The one thing I always recommend to people who ask about how to grow/take care of long hair is to detangle before getting it wet. Gently combing out the shed hair before it gets wet seems to really help avoid tangles. I don't comb conditioner through in the shower either. Combing beforehand and trying to keep it aligned in the shower lets me just run the conditioner through with my fingers and may help avoid breakage, too. I think combing first is the single most important thing I do for my hair. This includes before swimming too, by the way.

A good smooth resin comb is a must have. I prefer them over wood or bone, but that is just me. Others here seem to prefer wood and bone. I think wood is more likely to have tiny splits due to fluctuation in humidity, etc. so I just stick with the resin kind. I have not brushed my hair in more years than I can remember.

[Madora]

I would sincerely urge you not to use a nylon brush! They can damage hair in no time.

A 100% pure boar bristle brush is the best way to go. Goody sells them for under $12.00.

Why a BBB? Because the bristles are the actual "hair" of the wild boar and mesh well with your own hair. The BBB not only distributes the natural sebum that is in your own hair (when you brush every day), they also stimulate the scalp.

It's HOW you brush that makes all the difference! You should always first detangle your hair with a wide tooth comb (working up the strands - little by little - until you reach the scalp). Don't be in a hurry with combing or brushing.

After more than 40 years of taking care of my long hair, I've found that if I part my hair from the forehead to nape, and keep one section in front of me (left and right sides), it's a lot easier to handle my shampooing and conditioning chores w/o a mess of tangles occuring if my hair wasn't sectioned in two parts.

It's always a great idea to detangle your hair thoroughly before you shampoo. It not only eliminates tangles that might be present, but cuts down on the loose hair that might go down your drain (unless you have a hair strainer thingie in your shower).

[Victorious]

I agree with what Igor and Medora advised. I use a fine grit nail file on any combs or hair toys that might damage my baby fines. I always comb the last two inches first then work bit by bit up toward the scalp. I find the boar bristle brush doesn't work to take out tangles. It does make my hair lay really flat against my scalp though. That may or may not be the look that someone with fine straight hair wants. LOL:P I sometimes wet it to help force a misaligned part to get back in line. Oh and it does brush out hay dust after I've been feeding the animals. Because of that the brush gets filthy and I have to wash it quite often with a gentle shampoo. All in all, I love the brush and I'm glad I have it. It is a useful tool. Read the labels though. Some brushes aren't 100% natural boar hair or the hairs are in rough splintery wooden handles. Try Sally's or any hair supply shop and brush the back of your hand first. If it scratches your skin, don't use it in your hair.

[Victorious]

Oh, BTW, welcome to LHC beccarud!

[nytquill]

I have straight fine hair too. I'm not personally a big fan of boar bristle brushes - you may or may not be, try for yourself and see! But I have a wood bristle brush I bought at the Body Shop that I'm pretty happy with. Sadly they don't carry the combs in either store I can easily get to but I did get this brush and the teeth are relatively far apart.

I've tried sanding my plastic stuff and just ended up weakening the teeth until they broke off...and I was never sure I got it smooth enough not to still damage my hair. I haven't tried any of the fancier brushes so I can't really compare them, though I want to someday. But basically I'm sticking to natural teeth brushes and combs from now on!

I also brush before I get in the shower, though I do it not as much for my hair as for my shower drains. The more hair in the brush before I get in, the less hair winds up clogging the drain!

You may find that as time goes on with you paying more attention to your hair, your hair will be less prone to tangles. I know when I first started being nicer to my hair, it had been dried out, stripped by harsh shampoos, whipped by the wind, and just generally beaten up. Which all made it very dry and snaggy and snarly. It's a lot better now, I almost never get real tangles anymore and I'm mostly to waist length.

[Rivanariko]

I also have fine, straight hair that tangles when you look at it! I've stopped brushing altogether though, as I found it impossible to be careful enough not to break and rip my hair with brushes. I carefully finger-comb and detangle before I get in the shower and while I have conditioner in my hair, and then wait until it's mostly dry to detangle again. I haven't used any sort of comb or brush since joining LHC a year and a half ago except on rare occasions when I want my hair really smooth looking, and my hair is SO thankful for it!

As it's getting longer though, I'm starting to think about getting a widetoothed horn comb, as pretty soon my hair is going to be longer than my arms, which I imagine will make detangling slightly more difficult...

[Jessica Trapp]

I love my mason pearson combs.

[LadyG]

I have a horn comb, a wood comb on order, a BBB, and a wood hair brush. I love the wood hairbrush and horn comb. My hair is so much happier now that I don't use a plastic hairbrush. I only use the BBB about once or twice a week to spread my hair oil. Welcome to the board!